"You weren't a jerk...and you're not stupid," she assured him quietly, pulling slightly away so that she could look up at him. "I just thought that you were freaked out because you didn't want to marry me. And, you know, we aren't our parents."
Stacey was relieved that it wasn't her. She still wanted to marry Sam one day and she didn't know if she could compromise on that, but she could definitely wait longer for him to get used to the idea and want it, too.
"And I know that you know that we aren't them, but I understand why you're concerned," she promised. "And I'll be more patient. Just...this is something that we have to talk about sometimes and not...ignore it. Because I love you and I don't want to be apart from you ever again."